Google error hands disputed territory to Morocco

Google has become embroiled in another battle over territory after wrongly identifying a tiny rocky outcrop in the Mediterranean as belonging to Morocco, a claim that is disputed by Spain.

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Spain lays claim to sovereignty of the uninhabited rock whose circumference measures less than half a milePhoto: AP

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Spanish troops on Isla de Perejil in 2002Photo: AP

By Fiona Govan in Madrid

4:19PM GMT 10 Nov 2010

The internet giant was forced to admit the error just days after Nicaragua used Google's internet maps system to justify an invasion of Costa Rica.

The Isla de Perejil – "Parsley Island" – named for the wild herb that grows there, lies 220 yards off the coast of northern Morocco and was mistakenly marked on Google Maps as belonging to the north African country.

But Spain lays claim to sovereignty of the uninhabited rock whose circumference measures less than half a mile. The island's area is barely bigger than a football pitch.

The two countries were locked in a military stand-off over the island, known as Leila or "Night" by Moroccans, in July 2002 when Spanish troops sent in the military to eject a group of Moroccan soldiers who had set up camp there.

The incident threatened to dissolve Spanish and Moroccan diplomatic relations and was resolved only after the US brokered a deal to remove all forces from the territory.

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In 2004 both countries signed an agreement in Washington that stated ownership was "under review" and could be claimed by neither.

Spain made an official complaint in July when it emerged the island came under Moroccan territory on Google Maps, an error that the company said this week it was working to rectify.

"We have confirmation that a mistake was made and the correction will follow," a spokesman from Google Spain told news agency Europa Press on Tuesday adding that it would henceforth be marked as a "disputed territory".

Last week a similar error came to light after Nicaraguan troops crossed the San Juan river and planted a flag on Calero Island, which has been recognised as part of Costa Rica since 1897.

Google Maps had wrongly placed it in Nicaragua, a fact that was used by the commanding officer as the reason they had set up camp. The action prompted Costa Rica to send security forces to the border to repel the invasion.